New mosaic sculpture celebrates colour, community and hope

Nearly one hundred people turned out for the official unveiling of Common Ground Queensland’s Colour, Community & Hope Mosaic Sculpture on Thursday the 15th of September.

After 2 and half years of planning and development the ‘Colour, Community & Hope’ Mosaic Art Project was revealed.The three-dimensional mosaic sculpture was made using over 5000 handmade tiles and glass mosaics to create a colourful and engaging artwork which celebrates the local Kurilpa area, the Brisbane River, and the Brisbane Common Ground community.

Common Ground, situated at Hope Street in South Brisbane, provides affordable and supportive housing solutions for people who are suffering, or at risk of homelessness or struggling with severe disability, including mental health and addiction.

The team at Common Ground began the sculpture project as a way to improve the safety and amenity in the adjacent laneway that intersects building and connects Hope Street and Fleet Lane. The laneway had started to become a place for loitering and anti-social behaviour such as fighting and public drinking.These incidents spurred Common Ground to seek a positive and inclusive solution to address the public safety issues that was impacting the tenants and neighbours.

After careful consultation with tenants it was decided that public art within the walkway would be the preferred solution for improving the space for everyone.

The project was initially kick-started with funding by Brisbane City Council’s Suburban Crime Prevention Grant Program and the art workshop facilities and kilns needed were generously offered by TAFE Queensland Brisbane.Further funding for the project was sourced from community sponsors including Brisbane Ekibin Lions Club, Rotary Forest Lake, Grill’d Southbank, the Open Door Foundation, Stephanie Outridge Field, Lotus Place, as well as members of the public.

The sculpture would never have come to fruition without the fantastic work and collaboration between artistic managers Stephanie Outridge Field and John Fitz-Walter, tenant artists, Dean Miscamble from CeramicaMandala, Common Ground Queensland staff, TAFE Queensland South Bank Campus, Brisbane City Council, and Lotus Place.

Auntie Valda Coolwell providing a Welcome to Country

Guests in attendance to help with the unveiling on the day included Councillor Matthew Bourke, Director of Creative Arts and Digital Design at TAFE Queensland Brisbane Carla Reading, lead artistic manager Stephanie Outridge Field, lead tenant artist Ann O’Sullivan, and Common Ground QLD Chairman Peter Pearce.

The finished piece really has brought new life into the previously bare laneway, not only providing a much needed splash of colour and but also an iconic symbol for the tenant community. Common Ground is encouraging all members of the public to drop by and check it out.